Appearances are deadly
by fallenfairy4
Summary: What would have happened if Elena found Katherine's picture a little sooner than in 1x10, after Stefan and her had just made love. What if Damon had started to find his humanity a little sooner? Would Stefan's lie drive Damon and Elena closer together?


Disclaimer: unfortunately, I don't own TVD…. or any of its characters. (sigh)

I know I shouldn't be starting a new story when I still have Midnight Visit, and Razor's Edge to finish…but I couldn't help myself lol. I'm actually struggling with a bit of writers block with my other two stories, but I'm working on it so please bear with me guys! Btw, a great cure for writer's block is reviews! Lots and lots of reviews! Seriously guys, reviews mean so much to me. So if you can, please review! So… hope everyone enjoys this, and thanks for reading!

Summary: What would have happened if Elena found Katherine's picture a little sooner than in 1x10, after Stefan and her had just made love. What if Damon had started to find his humanity a little sooner? Would Stefan's lie drive Stefan and Elena apart, and Damon and Elena closer together?

Timeline: 162 Candles AU

The Grill

She didn't know what she was doing here. She wished she could just stick to her decision to keep _**away**_ from Stefan. But for all her protests, all the times she told Stefan she couldn't be with him…well she always seemed to end up around him somehow. And now, sitting here watching him laugh with Lexie, she wished she'd kept her declaration to Stefan earlier about staying in tonight. Sighing, Elena took a sip of her coke and tore her gaze off Stefan and Lexie. It seemed like Caroline's party was a huge hit. Dozens of people swirled around Elena laughing and getting drunk. It seemed like everyone was having a good time, everyone except her ….and Damon. She watched Damon stare morosely into space while swirling his scotch. He was the only person Elena knew that could sit alone in a corner and look cool doing it. He must have sensed her studying him, because he turned abruptly and met her stare. And, now he was sidling up to her. Great, just what she needed.

"Well, well, well. Look who we have here."

Rolling her eyes, Elena tried to maintain a calm, slightly bored expression. "What do you want Damon?"

Following the direction of Elena's gaze, Damon nodded over in Stefan's direction. "I don't have to ask you what **you** want. You're making it oh so obvious with all your teenage wallowing and starry-eyed mooning. Ugh, it makes me sick."

"Nobody's making you watch. Seriously Damon, what are you doing here? It's not like you can cause any real damage with so many members of the founder's council here tonight. So what's the point of you being here?"

"You wound me Elena with all of your insinuations."

"My insinuations?"

"That I'm only capable of death, gloom, etc, etc….wait what am I talking about…that **is** all I'm capable of." Grinning, Damon grabbed a tequila shot of the table closest to him and gulped it down. Elena wearily watched him from the corner of her eye before throwing a quick glance in Stefan's direction. He was still playing pool. Elena didn't even think Stefan knew she was here…how much help would he be if she needed him?

"Oh, stop worrying. You said it yourself, Elena. I can't do much of anything tonight with the whole town watching. So, why don't you relax and stop giving yourself Stefan-esque forehead wrinkles. You're perfectly safe…for the evening."

Elena caught his enigmatic pause and its intended meaning. But for some reason Elena only felt a mild flash of annoyance rather than fear. She wasn't dumb, she felt weary of him for sure. But besides playing some mind games and trying to compel a kiss from her, Damon really hadn't done much…to her anyway. Turning her attention to the older vampire completely now, Elena studied him. Hair as dark as night, and eyes the color of glacial blue. He certainly looked every bit the bad boy with his leather jacket and bad-ass biker boots. Their eyes met, and it was ridiculous that her breath caught in her chest, just like the first time she saw him that day in the boarding house.

"You know what I don't get," Elena started.

"Enlighten me; the thoughts of teenage girls are always high on my list of concerns."

Elena simply raised her eyebrows at his sarcastic tone. Rolling his eyes, Damon put his drink down and looked about as serious as she'd ever seen him look, seemingly giving her his full attention.

In a low voice Elena began to speak. "With everything you've done since coming into town, all the killing, everything you did to Caroline…everything you've done to Stefan…well…"

"Well what?"

Elena swallowed, hearing the cold tone Damon had suddenly taken. He knew where this conversation was going. "Well, why didn't you do any of it to me?" Damon opened his mouth, about to speak, but Elena continued before he could get a word out.

"Especially since you were invited into my house, and I wasn't on vervain. Stefan said it himself; the best way to hurt him is to hurt me. And we all know that you want to hurt Stefan, so why didn't you? Hurt me?"

"Who's to say I won't? Maybe I'm just waiting for the perfect opportunity."'

"You _**had**_ the perfect opportunity. I'm not dumb, Damon. And here's another thing, why did you try to compel a kiss from me?

Damon grinned and leaned towards her slowly. His glacial eyes seemed to smolder all of a sudden. How did he do that? How could eyes smolder?

"You should have more self-esteem than that Elena. You're a very attractive girl."

"That's not what I meant!" Taking a breath, Elena glanced around making sure nobody was looking at them before she asked the question she wasn't sure she wanted an answer to. "I meant, why didn't you do to me, what you did to Caroline? You know…use me for," Elena had to swallow before getting the next words out, "sex and …blood?"

Damon's eyes flashed and then darkened. He leaned forward slowly, and Elena couldn't help moving back in response. He was making her nervous. But still, she looked him directly in the eye.

And then in a deep, gritty voice, Damon spoke. "Why Elena, are you offering?" He sounded like sex, like he was offering her a world filled of unspoken, forbidden pleasures. Elena had trouble maintaining eye contact…but she did. She felt her stomach drop and her skin burn, but managed to hold his gaze. She wouldn't let him win. Somehow, she felt that was important.

"That's a ridiculous statement you just made. You're many things, but I didn't take you for stupid, Damon."

Elena watched him sit back and regard her, with no hint of humor on his face. She couldn't be sure, but she thought she read admiration and a grudging amount of respect flash in his eyes.

"It just doesn't make sense! Even if you weren't particularly attracted to me, which you kinda just admitted to me you are." Elena couldn't help giving him a pointed look, before taking a breath and getting the rest out. "The best way to get back at Stefan would be to sleep with his girlfriend, not his girlfriend's best friend. Why get Caroline involved?"

The words had just poured out of her; once she'd started she couldn't stop. It was similar to how she felt when writing in her diary. But looking at Damon's frozen, dark countenance, Elena understood that this was not the kind of situation where she should have let her words flow so unthinkingly. Because she wasn't at home, tucked into her window seat, and writing safely in her diary. She was sitting next to a vampire. Her heart started to pound, and Elena felt herself tremble as the seconds trickled by without Damon so much as blinking. He just sat there, with that frightening expression on his face, staring at her. Time to go! Elena tried to gather her purse and get to her feet, but Damon's hand was locked around her wrist before she'd moved an inch.

"You're not going anywhere. You started this, now I'm going to finish it."

"Damon," oh my god what had she started? He couldn't do anything to her here, but he could drag her outside too quickly for the human eye to see. He could do to her what he'd done to Caroline. Maybe he'd slam her against the alley wall right outside and tear her clothes off. He'd thrust into her, so forcefully that'd she'd see stars and wouldn't be able to help moaning….woah. What the hell was she thinking? All of this flashed through her mind in the second Damon had wrapped his hand around the bare skin at her wrist, his eyes searing her own. He must have been implanting these images into her brain, there was no other explanation. She was with Stefan, sort of. Besides she'd never been that type of girl. Elena tried to break eye contact with Damon, and search for Stefan.

"Uh-uh-uh, "Damon shook his finger at her, his other hand still wound tightly around her wrist. "We can't have any of that, besides he's too busy with his old slut to worry about you. So…" his words caused a lump to form in Elena's throat. Surely somebody must have noticed how uncomfortable Damon was making her. Elena glanced widely around for about a second before Damon's other hand grabbed her chin, bringing her face within inches of his own. "This is what we're going to do now, Elena. Since you've been a nosey little girl, we're going to have to make sure that you don't get yourself into any more trouble. It seems I have to educate you on how you talk and _**behave**_ around vampires." Elena watched as Damon smiled at her, a smile that made a thick ball of dread build in her stomach, and her body to heat up. The smile slid from Damon's face as he tightened his grip on her wrist. "Now, you're going to get up, and walk out of here with me."

"What?"

"You heard me. Not only are you going to walk out of here with me, but you're gonna have a huge smile on your face. The kind of smile you'd have on when you're about to get laid…by me. So it's going to have to be a big…smile."

"You're disgusting," Elena managed to spit out.

"And you love it. Now, **get…** **up**."

Silently, Elena got up. She looked around for Stefan, or anyone for that matter who could help her, but Stefan was nowhere to be found. Still in Damon's hold, Elena tried to think. She didn't want Damon to snap and hurt anyone else, or blow Stefan's cover. What else could she do but follow Damon? She found herself stumbling out of her chair a couple of steps, right alongside Damon. And in horror, Elena watched the door get closer and closer. She felt Damon practically mold himself to the side of her body. He draped one arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his concrete chest. She felt his breath as he moved in closer, whispering in her ear.

"Scream, and I'll rip little Jeremy's ribcage out and wear it as a hat." The threat was enough to freeze whatever Elena might have done in those precious seconds she'd had before reaching the door. Blinking rapidly Elena felt herself being dragged with supernatural speed. In seconds, she was being pushed against a hard, cold surface. Gasping, Elena registered they were in the alley, a little ways away from The Grill (just as she'd foreseen). Damon leaned over, with both hands resting beside her head on the wall in back of her. She was trapped in-between the wall, and what she'd just discovered was Damon's very hard body. She'd noticed before that Damon wasn't particularly tall, falling an inch or two under Stefan's height. But right now, he seemed to tower over her. Elena couldn't help squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to gather herself. She listened for anyone loitering nearby, but couldn't hear anything. Besides, Damon would probably just kill anyone who tried to interfere.

"It's no use, you know. Nobody's going to be coming to rescue you, no one that's gonna live to see the end of it anyway."

Snapping her eyes open, she met Damon's gaze and lifted her chin defiantly. She wasn't going to let him see how scared she was. How did he know that's what she'd been contemplating? Without thinking, Elena lifted her hand searching for the reassuring silver weight resting on her neck. Damon followed the movement and watched as Elena wrapped her hand around the vervain filled charm resting a little above her breast.

"Another tip….it's not wise to draw attention to your neck when in the presence of a vampire. Honestly Elena, do I have to spell everything out for you. That one's pretty basic, didn't Stefan tell you anything?" He hadn't moved from where he was hovering over her, almost close enough to touch.

Trying to breathe deeply, Elena couldn't help wondering what the hell was going on. Why not get on with it? He was back to using his sarcastic voice, and while he was leaning menacingly over her, he wasn't quite touching her. He hadn't hurt her yet. The suspense was killing her.

"What are you going to do with me, Damon?"

"That's the million dollar question, isn't it Elena? Maybe I'll do some of those wonderful things you suggested earlier. Maybe I'll do all of them…I can start with using you for sex and blood, and then I can just…kill you." He moved one of his arms and stroked one finger down the length of her face, and Elena could feel herself shake under his hand.

"Please, just…."

"Just, what?"

Elena swallowed while Damon continued to stroke her face, almost gently. She felt the strangest sense of de ja vu, and Elena frowned trying to understand the strange feeling. Had he stroked her face like this before? No, he couldn't have…. He was _**still **_stroking her face tenderly, and looking at her like she was the damn Mona Lisa or something. This was not how a person looked when they were about to kill someone. He didn't even really look violent right now, earlier yes, but right now…

"Please Damon." He looked startled. He looked as startled as she felt when hearing the soft, almost loving tone she'd just used. She sounded like a woman pleading with her lover. Emotions almost too fast to categorize shone upon Damon's face. For a second, he looked like a little boy, mourning the loss of a beloved toy. He still loomed over Elena, his stance still threatening. His expression cleared and became blank. Still, he maintained eye contact with her. He brought his face even closer and she saw his fangs lengthen. She didn't know what made her do what she did next. Maybe it was the lack of expression on his face, when there should have been bloodlust. Or maybe it was that flash of vulnerability she'd seen earlier, but Elena felt her hand move on its own accord. She watched as she cupped Damon's cheek in the palm of her hand.

"Damon…" Was that her voice, all breathy and tender? And with a great roar of frustration, Damon dropped his arms, and stepped away from her, no longer trapping her with his body. Elena let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She kept herself molded to the cold, hard cement of the wall behind her as she watched Damon pace and tear at his hair in frustration. She should be running, trying to escape, but Elena found her muscles frozen and her gaze locked on Damon. He stopped suddenly, and looked at her.

"What are you thinking right now?" Elena heard his rough voice ask the question and didn't stop to think before she answered honestly.

"I'm thinking that you're not going to hurt me, for some reason…even though you'd like to, to prove a point."

He rubbed a palm across his face and muttered something under his breath that Elena couldn't completely catch, but she heard the name Katherine escape his lips.

"Does it have something to do with Katherine?"

"I thought so at first, but I'm not sure anymore." Damon turned, no longer showing Elena his face and she watched as he kicked the ground in what she could only guess was anger….or sadness.

"It threw me for a loop, you know." Even though he couldn't see it, Elena arched her eyebrow in response.

"What threw you for a loop?" Where was he going with this? Damon turned then, facing her. There was still about a foot of distance between their bodies. She shouldn't feel as suffocated with his presence as she did.

"That you're nothing like her. And not only that… but that I like it, I like that you're different from her." His glacial blue eyes didn't seem so cold now. In fact, his eyes were burning now, with an intense emotion that Elena couldn't name. If she thought that Stefan's gaze was intense, well that was nothing compared to whatever this was. Shaking her head, Elena tried to understand. Why would Damon think she'd be like Katherine? There was something she wasn't aware of, something having to do with the way Lexie had looked at her earlier like she'd seen a ghost. Something to do with all of Damon's taunting when he'd first come to town. The way he always found a way to bring Katherine up to her.

"I don't understand Damon. Why did you think I'd be like Katherine?" Damon's jaw dropped and he looked at her in total bewilderment. And then she watched as understanding washed over Damon's features, clearing it of the incredulity of moments ago. He took a step towards her.

"Well, well, well. Looks like St. Stefan hasn't been acting very saintly at all. Isn't _**lying**_ one of the seven sins?"

"I know envy is," Elena snapped. She couldn't control her temper. The little ball of dread she'd felt earlier seemed to triple in size, working its way into her throat, making in hard for Elena to breath. Still, she had to know.

"What are you talking about Damon?" Elena watched as Damon searched inside his jacket pocket for something. He slowly pulled out what looked like paper, or perhaps some kind of photograph.

"I don't know what possessed me to take this from Stefan's room and bring it tonight…I guess I was feeling nostalgic." Damon studied whatever it was he was holding for a minute before looking up at her.

"This is why I thought you'd be like Katherine, why I thought I couldn't hurt you." Damon held out the object he was holding to her. Taking a step away from the wall, Elena grasped the object and looked down…into her own face. The breath left her body and Elena felt herself sway until arms were suddenly around her, steadying her. She heard Damon calling her name, but it sounded like it was from a great distance. Her vision was tunneling, and the last thing she saw was blue-blue eyes, before everything went black.

Images seemed to be floating lazily up to the surface of her memory. Elena felt like she was underwater, the pressure was intense and heavy, keeping her from opening her eyes and answering that voice…That voice! She knew that voice that was calling her name, quite persistently. Groaning, Elena struggled to open her eyes. She felt a light pressure against her cheek, like someone was slapping it in an attempt to get her to wake up. Didn't this dude know anything? Slapping a girl on the cheek was not the way to wake a girl up. Bed time stories that her mother used to read to her floated through her consciousness. The guy was supposed to kiss the girl! Only true love's kiss could wake sleeping beauty. Why didn't he kiss her? It would have been much more pleasant than all the cheek slapping that was going on. And then finally, she felt someone's breath on her lips. Elena felt her eyelids flutter. She heard the man whisper her name softly, and cup her cheek. Elena would sigh, if she could. He was going to kiss her, she just knew it. And then, lighter than the lightest rain drizzle against one's skin, she felt lips touch her own. Hazily, Elena registered that it was funny how such a light touch could cause her stomach to clench so fiercely. Warmth spread throughout her limbs, working its way to her face where she felt the man press butterfly kisses against her eyelids, and cheeks. Finally Elena was able to open her eyes. And when she saw glacial blue eyes hovering over her, everything rushed back, causing Elena to lurch up.

"Woah, take it easy. You fainted, although given the circumstances it's understandable. Come on, sit back down." Dizzy, Elena let Damon guide her into sitting back down against the wall.

"You kissed me."

"Guilty. And don't even try slapping me; you'll only hurt your hand."

"It's because I look like her, right?"

"Come again?"

"That's why you haven't hurt me, because I look like Katherine?" Elena watched through fog filled eyes as Damon took his jacket off and covered her with it.

"That's not an issue we're going to grapple with tonight."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not drunk enough and you're _**too**_ out of it. Doesn't seem fair. Rest for a minute, and then I'll take you home."

"Stefan lied to me."

"Yes. Yes, he did. Come on, upsy-daisy." Damon lifted Elena into his arms bridal style, and began to walk.

"Stefan _**lied**_ to me," Elena couldn't help was ridiculous. Where was Stefan? Stefan should be here, saving her.

"Boo-hoo, cry me a freakin river and all that jazz. Put your head down and go to sleep."

Groaning, Elena let her head fall against the crook of Damon's neck. She was so tired.

"That's it sweetheart. Just go to sleep," he soothed.

Elena wanted to ask Damon why he hadn't hurt her again, why he was _**almost**_ being nice to her…but she was just so sleepy. Giving up, Elena closed her eyes and let the darkness take her.


End file.
